Governors moved yesterday to stem the tide of violence sparked by the soldiers' clash with separatists in Abia State. Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Jos, the state capital, following fears of possible attacks in the city. Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu announced that soldiers would be withdrawn from Aba and Umuahia today - in response to pleas from well-meaning people. Many governors were said to have summoned Security Council meetings to stop the violence from… Read more

There was tension in Aba yesterday. Some residents remained indoors and others were seen leaving the city in fear. At Uratta Junction, Ariaria Junction, Tonimas Junction and Flyover Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, some people were seen with luggage, waiting for vehicles to take them out of town. Some youths gathered around Ariaria Junction, carrying sticks and stones. At Bakassi Bus Stop on the expressway, policemen threw teargas canisters at some youths who gathered at a nearby street. There were unsubstantiated reports… Read more

Everyone knows Aba for its bustling commerce and industry, but Enyimba City also once had an ugly side known for hard drugs. At York Street, addicts and peddlers reigned supreme. Until the last four years, York was where women were raped, phones snatched, and handbags stolen even in broad daylight by drug addicts almost on a daily basis. Commendation must be given to the immediate past commander of The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the state, Mrs. Florence… Read more

Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has announced the withdrawal of soldiers from the streets of Aba and Umuahia, the state capital. Ikpeazu announcing this in a media chat with Journalists in Umuahia on Thursday said that the reason for the withdrawal was as a result of intervention from well-meaning Abians and Nigerians. The governor disclosed that he was going to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to urge him to suspend the planned Python Dance II exercise scheduled to commence… Read more

Heads of security agencies in Abia State have reportedly relocated the administrative headquarters of their agencies to Aba, the Commercial nerve of State temporarily. The Nation gathered that the decision of the security chiefs to relocate to Aba was as a result of rumours in some quarters that some group of persons were allegedly planning to capitalize on the clash between soldiers and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Isiala Ngwa axis of the Aba-Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway on… Read more

Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has declared a three-day curfew that will last between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the commercial city of Aba with immediate effect. Ikpeazu made the declaration in a statement made available to newsmen in Umuahia on Tuesday. He said that the measure was to calm tension occasioned by the proclamation of a military operation code-named ‘Operation Python Dance 2’ in the South-East. He said that his administration was committed to the… Read more

Over one month after Aba, Abia State’s city of commerce and industry, was submerged, residents hope their pleas will be answered. SUNNY NWANKWO reports The downpour on July 23 was devastating. Two children were said to be swept off. Homes were wrecked, and many residents forced outdoors. Aba, Abia State’s commercial capital, had a sudden tragedy in hand. Those affected, mostly in Aba North and South local government areas, appealed for help, wherever they could get it, from the local… Read more

The Minister of Information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has urged students and parents to embrace their local languages and cultures. Mohammed,who was represented at the Cultural Day celebration of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba by Mr. Uche Idika Kalu, the Curator of National Museum of Colonial History, Aba, lamented that Nigerians were abandoning their cultural heritage. He said events like the Cultural Day celebration reminded people of the need to preserve their cultures and traditions. The Minister praised the Igbo… Read more

Aba based lawyer, Barr. Emperor Gabriel Ogbonna has narrated how he narrowly escaped death by the whiskers in the hands of gunmen who had wanted to abduct him from his residence located at Ogbor Hill, off the heart of Aba, Abia State. Ogbonna, though could not disclose the hospital where he was receiving medical attention, in a facebook post on his wall thanked members of the public for praying for his quick recovery but however blasted policemen in Aba for… Read more

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State on Sunday August 27 to further push the course of his group. Sunny Nwankwo, who was at the event, writes on how many traders made fortune from the visit. Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, gained its popularity through the ingenuity of its residents and their huge interest in trade and investment in economic activities. This accounts for… Read more

An industrialist in Aba, Abia State, Chief Emma Obi, has decried the continued importation of banned Olin (vegetable) oil into the country. Obi, the immediate past chairman of Industrialists Association, Aba (IAA) and managing director of Polema Industries Ltd, said: “Government should check if the importers are paying duties at all for these goods because we are sure that if they pay 35 percent duty on all these goods (vegetable oil), they can not sell at the cheaper rate they… Read more

A Federal Government’s electrification plan could put business people who generate most of Abia State’s revenue out of years of anguish, reports SUNNY NWANKWO The Federal Government has a plan to provide 24-hour power supply for Ariaria International Market, where most of Abia State’s internal revenue is generated. The plan will clean up the market, speed up the traders’ business and generate more cash for the state. It will be historic if the plan works out. Aba, where the market… Read more

Its commerce has won many over, but there is one thing Enyimba City has not conquered: flooding. SUNNY NWANKWO reports on the deluge that swamped Aba In a room in one apartment you could only see a few inches of the backrest of a plastic chair sticking out of the water. Everything else was underwater except for some half-submerged weighty household items placed on the chair in the hope that they would be safe from the flood. They were not.… Read more